The upcoming SpaceX IPO - possibly taking place by mid-June - is certain to put commercial space in the news. A London-listed investment trust that taps into the sector is launching a fundraising of its own, rather more modest in size.

London-listed Seraphim Space Investment Trust, managed by Seraphim Space, is launching a C-share fundraise to enable the trust to raise up to £350 million ($474.5 million).

SSIT has been one of the top-performing investment trusts in 2025, and the best-performing trust on the London Stock Exchange this year, Seraphim Space, or Seraphim, said in a statement yesterday, citing the rise in its share price from around 120p at the end of December 2025 to around 220p.

Seraphim Space has supported more than 100 SpaceTech companies through its accelerator programme. The rise of such a business highlights how space-linked tech, covering areas such as satellites, is now a major investment area. 

Focus on commercial space is sure to be boosted by the forthcoming initial public offering of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, expected to set a record for capital raised in the share float. Reports have said that the firm, which includes space infrastructure, satellite-based broadband services (Starlink), startup AI company xAI, and social media platform X, aims to raise $75 billion.

“The commercial space sector has moved from a long-duration, capex-heavy theme to a revenue-generating infrastructure story, driven by sharply falling launch costs, proliferation of satellites, and growing end-market demand from defence, climate, telecoms and data analytics,” it said. “Demand signals are becoming more visible: governments are increasing defence-related space spending; enterprises are embedding satellite-derived data into core operations; and institutional investors are seeking differentiated, hard asset-backed growth themes at a time when traditional tech valuations remain volatile,” it added. 

Several of SSIT’s largest holdings have reached milestones in recent months, including a planned HawkEye 360 IPO and its largest holding, ICEYE, now valued at €2.4 billion ($2.81 billion).

According to a report published on 22 July 2025 by the Space Foundation, a non-profit organisation, the global sector reached a record $613 billion in 2024, representing 7.8 per cent year-on-year growth. The commercial segment accounted for 78 per cent of the total. (See an article here from 2023 about the commercial space tech sector.)

“The [capital] raise is one of the most significant equity raises by a UK listed investment trust, and one of the very few sizeable fundraisings in the listed growth/technology space,” Seraphim said in a statement. More than 85 per cent of the portfolio is expected to be profitable, in terms of earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation, in 2026, it said.